The Sunset Trilogy

by ocalhoun

Book 3 - Chapter LXII

Book 3: Equestria Abides
Chapter 28

Twilight sat back on their impromptu parade float – the same wagon they had pulled all the way here, now gaily decorated and pulled by a (nearly) matched team of two stallions from their little town. Apollo sat next to her, looking as if he was completely comfortable with the situation, which she rather envied. She was feeling nervous and more than a little shy at the moment... she wasn't used to being adored by a crowd.

Even Sunny, sitting at her other side, didn't seem bothered by the crowd, instead looking out curiously, and occasionally waving to ponies she knew. Was that something that just came from being an alicorn, she thought sourly, the ability to stay calm when you're in the center of that sea of attention? Or maybe it was just having Trigger at her side again... The two had been inseparable after being reunited. He couldn't even be kept off of the parade float if that was where Sunny was.

The place of honor though, in front of all four of them, was taken up by Twilight's favorite changeling... who was quite busy making the biggest glutton of herself possible. She was obviously enjoying this greatly, leaning forward in her seat, as if trying to get just a little closer to the adoring ponies. She wasn't disguised; she was propped up there in all her changeling glory... and the ponies loved her anyway. After all, Twilight had made sure that the story of 'the changeling who freed the slaves' was well-circulated... everypony knew what the changeling had done... though they didn't know why. The changeling's enjoyment of this adoration focused on her – the real her – was obvious. She kept leaning forward, darting back and forth to one side of the float and the other, whichever seemed to have more ponies on that side at the moment. Her eyes were half-lidded and her tongue was lolling out of her fanged mouth, letting out the occasional drop of green drool. A close look at her and Twilight could see that her sides were heaving; the changeling was breathing really heavily. Idly, she wondered if consuming this much emotion at once was good for a changeling... would she get a stomach-ache or something later?

Ahead of the float walked all of the newly freed slaves, or at least all the ones who had come to Las Pegasus. Many had wanted to leave off and search for their friends or families elsewhere, but a surprisingly large portion had decided to follow Apollo's advice and come here... Even without the few that had gone elsewhere, the population of the Las Pegasus area would be more than tripling now... How they were going to feed all these new ponies, Twilight wasn't sure... but she thought maybe those now-abandoned slave farms near Trottingham might help.

A lavender pegasus came rushing out of the crowd at the side, catching Twilight's attention. It took her a moment to recognize the mare she had been consoling earlier, as they rebuilt her house. The mare jumped into the line of freed slaves eagerly, quickly latching onto a sandy brown stallion right in the middle of the parade. The two threatened to stop the parade's progress entirely as they stood still in the middle of the street, but Twilight quickly forgave that little inconvenience as she saw the colt kneel down and present a ring... which the pegasus mare quickly snatched up and put on before kissing him perhaps a little too vigorously for being in the middle of a crowd. Merry Weather had gotten her second chance, Twilight thought gratefully. She was glad that the pony had made the best of it this time.

As the parade stopped for a moment, waiting for the two lovebirds to move on, Twilight caught Happy Heart looking back at her, a smile on her face. It was another sight that warmed her heart, since she hadn't seen the fearful mare smile hardly at all... but now she was beaming, despite her scarred body and still disheveled mane... and she had her hoof around a light pink pegasus mare... that must have been the friend she thought she lost... the one who had been mind-controlled.

Twilight leaned back in her seat on the float... at least if she couldn't enjoy the parade for her own sake, she was glad her friends were making the best of it.

* * *

Twilight could hear the sounds of the party outside still. She was eager to get back to it... despite the hard times, it was a party to rival any that Pinkie had ever thrown, full of joyful reunions and ponies tasting freedom for the first time in years... it was amazing... but she had a task to do first.

Again, she sat next to Sunny and Apollo, but this time in what was starting to look and feel far too much like a throne room. In a corner, their tame changeling was sleeping contentedly, looking very satiated... even Twilight had to admit... the bug actually looked kind of cute like that. The sight gave her a little hope for their future with the changelings... if they could follow this example, maybe changelings and ponies could get along after all.

Before them, now entirely wrapped in a cocoon, was Black Diamond. Twilight wasn't concerned about him escaping or causing them harm... after all, even Celestia hadn't been able to break out of such a cocoon when she had been trapped in one. Twilight sighed; her brother's wedding seemed so long ago now.

The unspoken question before everypony now was simple though... what do do with Black Diamond. “But we can't just keep him imprisoned forever,” Apollo insisted. “Cruel or not, we just can't. He'd figure out a way to use his magic eventually... he'd take over his guards or something, and they'd set him free... and then who knows what he might do?”

Twilight had some pretty likely ideas about what the furious-looking encased pony in front of them might do... at the moment, the most likely seemed to be 'kill the ponies who trapped me'... but she was sure that 'escape to start slaving again' and 'take over this fortress' were also high on the list. She sighed again and shook her head. “Apollo's right... we can't keep him here.”

“But what else can we do?” Sunny asked, her hoof still wrapped around Trigger, “We can't set him free... we can't trust him...” She paused for a moment, thinking... “Wait... you don't mean we're going to...”

“I'm sorry. I don't think we have any other choice, Sunny,” Apollo said, looking a little dejected. He didn't seem to like the idea of capital punishment either.

Twilight looked around, a little desperate to find some other solution... and ended up focusing on Sunny Daze... but she was thinking back to another sun-alicorn: her mentor, Celestia... how would she have handled the situation? Her mind wandered to an old off-color joke she had heard back in Canterlot... and then it hit her.

“Sunny, Apollo?” She said, getting both of them to look her way. “I was thinking about something Celestia once did... around a thousand years ago or so... We have all the elements of harmony here... and an alicorn...”

It took them a moment, but they seemed to get it. Each of them nodded, smiling.

Twilight walked up to the cocoon encasing Black Diamond with a slightly maniacal grin on her face. She looked him in the eyes and asked simply, “Black Diamond, do you like bananas?”

* * *

Comments

[Mooncrash]

2096088 2096229

[Mooncrash]

[khatre]

[ocalhoun]

[-Key-]

OH GOD, WHHHYYYYYY, NOW EVERYONE'S DOING IT, STOP WITH THE SINGLE EMOTICON POSTS IT HURTS!!!

[ultra1437]

Oh that last line was hilarious. I mean i saw it coming when the Elements were mentioned, but yeah that mental image is hilarious.

[ocalhoun]

2097245
Hear, hear!

2097380
I'm glad you enjoyed it.
Some love that, some hate it... but I left it in because I'm one of the ones who love it. ^.^

[Commander Darklight]

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